Editorial

EDITORIAL | Very few people can predict Somalia's political landscape these days. And the events of the last week were in line with this uncertainty. The general feeling, however, is that Somalia needs a solution on how to conduct elections. So how did the country end up here? It is true that Somalia should have elections for a one-man vote by November this year. Every stakeholder failed to ensure that this happens, especially the Federal Government of Somalia . In the wake of this failure, the leaders then…

EDITORIAL | After nearly a week of meetings in Dhusamareb, the capital of the state of Galmudug, Somalia's leaders failed to decide which electoral model to choose. They could not agree on the date of the election or even the participants. Instead, leaders allegedly 'agreed' on timely elections. With all the funfair and photo ops in Galmudug, Somalia's political leaders failed to guide ordinary citizens about their political future. There are those who claim that the mere acceptance of meeting by President…

EDITORIAL | The first two weeks of July have been an eventful mass of political activities in Somalia. But the public is not yet aware of a solution to an ongoing problem: the kind of elections the country will hold before the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021. This week, federal state presidents have gathered in Dhusamareb, the capital of the state of Galmudug. The agenda was to strengthen their voice on the national political stage and push for a common position on elections and other important issues. After…

EDITORIAL | The claims of Somali Prime Minister Hassan Khaire that elections should be held on time to avoid future security and constitutional crises are welcome. Sir. Khaire's comments after the meeting with his cabinet in Mogadishu signal that the federal government in Somalia is really focused on holding elections on time as planned. Somalia had scheduled elections for lawmakers before the end of this year to replace MPs whose term ends in late October. The country was expected to elect a federal president by…

EDITORIAL | Somalia's election program may have hit its head last week when the head of the National Independent Electoral Commission admitted it could not hold elections on time. Citing war between stakeholders, uncertainty and incomplete legal system; Ms. Halima Ismail suggested instead of having some sort of extension of the established to either a paper-based choice (before) or a biometric choice . But the concern from this concession has been the apparent change in attitude from Somalia's international…

EDITORIAL | There were positive signs this week in Somalia, so gratifyingly it showed that key political stakeholders were eager to open their dead communication channels for the benefit of the country. Then there were also bad signs bad enough to show that the old perennial problems in Somalia have not yet been tackled. When Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo almost spoke to the presidents of the federal member states for the first time in more than a year; it was good. When the meeting tentatively…

Somalia's week in politics can be very long, especially as elections approach. EDITORIAL | This week, three things happened: The federal government of Somalia participated in advisory talks with Somaliland, the first such tangible discussion in almost five years. Mogadishu also recognized, albeit as interim, the president of Jubaland Ahmed Madobe. President Mohamed Farmaajo also invited all federal Member States to dialogue on security and political issues before the election. We welcome these steps, even though…

EDITORIAL | Somalia's federal parliament reopened on Saturday amid Jews from a section of lawmakers who were angry at the way President Mohamed Farmajo controlled things. In the midst of the chaos, however, President Farmajo is to be commended for having promised that things will be "different" in the upcoming election. The leader promised that there would be elections for a one-person-vote, something that every Somali citizen under the age of 40 has never seen happen in the country. Still, the president told a…

EDITORIAL | There are certain things about Mogadishu that every Somali often agrees with. First, the city has existed for most of the last 11 centuries, has an important port city and is a major business center in the Horn of Africa. It is also the capital of Somalia. At present, however, much of the debate surrounding Mogadishu is political over how it should be run. Like many other capitals in the world, Mogadishu could be like Washington, DC; where the federal government through Congress directly influences…

EDITORIAL | Somalia's political journey may have reached a crossroads this week, as the Federal Parliament pushed back the appearance of the National Independent Electoral Commission by a month. The NIEC's action before Parliament would be crucial in determining the specific dates for elections to be held at least before March next year. It is understandable that many political leaders in the country have been miffed with the postponement. Firstly, delaying such an important meeting means that we cannot know the…